Godly Insights for the 21st Century Life

     This summer, Mom and I did some cleaning around the house. One of the things we found was an old CCM magazine talking about the upcoming book and CD set chronicling the 100 greatest songs in Christian music. While the article hinted at some of the songs featured in the countdown, we were really curious to see the entire list. While we could find the track list for some of the CDs, we couldn't see the entire list without reading the book. We had to use an inter-library loan to get it, but it was worth it to be able to uncover the mystery of which songs made the list.     My parents and I really enjoyed reading the book and seeing the choices that the editors made. Some of the songs on the list came as no surprise. (Among the top five were " Awesome God " by Rich Mullins, " Jesus Freak " by DC Talk, and " I Can Only Imagine " by MercyMe.) Some of the songs I knew well, but not their original versions. (I've sung " Soon and Very Soon " ...

     This past year has been horrible in so many ways. Our world has been cowering in the shadow of a pandemic since March, and in some way, its tentacles have seeped into everyone's lives. The deaths of black men and women this spring at the hands of police sparked protests and riots for months. Wildfires burned through Australia, the Atlantic hurricane season spawned so many storms that meteorologists had to dig deep into the Greek alphabet for names, and murder hornets sprang up out of nowhere.      In a year with so much bad, it can be a challenge to remember the good things. I decided to take up the challenge to find 20 good things that happened this year, and while it was hard at first, once I started it was hard to narrow it down to only 20. Here, in no particular order, are 20 things that have been blessings in my life in the year 2020. Performing in  Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat :  This was a blessing this year i...

"Forget the lies you heard Rise above the hurt And listen to these words You are beloved" ~ " Beloved "-Jordan Feliz When I listened to this song one day last month and decided to use it for a blog post, my plan was to reach out to all those who were feeling unloved for one reason or another. There have been times when I myself needed that reminder, and my first name is derived from the old French word for beloved, so naturally this song is one that is very meaningful to me. I knew it could be that way for anyone who needed a reminder of God's love for them. However, the events of last month's special General Conference of the United Methodist Church has caused me to narrow my focus to one specific group. For those unfamiliar with what happened, the conference was called in order to address issues relating to human sexuality, specifically whether or not to allow practicing homosexuals to be ordained as clergy, and whether or not same-sex weddings can ...

Earlier this week, I took a solo road trip from my home in Wichita, Kansas to St. Louis, Missouri. The 884 mile round trip took about 15 hours to drive, not including stops for gas, restroom, and meals. That made for a lot of time driving by myself, and when I'm driving for a while by myself, I tend to spend a bit of time thinking. Here, in no particular order, are some of the things I thought about in all that time on the road. The importance of speed limits:  Really this one should be a no-brainer, but it seems like a lot of other drivers were not paying any attention to what the signs said. Shortly after crossing the state line, I saw a sign about how there had been 396 road fatalities so far this year, and 58% weren't wearing their seatbelts. That means that 42% were, which is a whopping 168 people belted in who were killed in car accidents in six months. That figure astounded me until I actually got into St. Louis. As I left the hotel to come home, I got onto I-64, and s...

After going to Winter Jam last month, and then the Tobymac Hits Deep tour this month, I have been thinking about who I would want to see at next year's Winter Jam. Here is my ideal list of artists: 1. Newsong As the founding members of the tour, it would not be Winter Jam without them. 2. Newsboys After seeing both God's Not Dead  and God's Not Dead 2 , I have seen a bit of their infectious stage presence. It would be great to get to see it live next year. 3. Lauren Daigle She was one of the artists I was most looking forward to seeing at this year's Winter Jam, but unfortunately, she got the flu and was unable to sing at a few of the venues, including here in Wichita. I would be very pleased if she would come back to the tour next year for those of us who missed her this year. 4. Colton Dixon American Idol  was cruel enough to schedule their live series finale opposite the Hits Deep Tour's appearance in Wichita. While I was upset at first that he wa...